His friends nicknamed him "Hollywood" after the city where he worked and lived for years. Morgan moved there in 1992 to pursue acting. He appeared in made for TV movies, "C'mon Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story," and "The 60s" and was a featured regular on 90210 in 1999. He played a featured bar patron on HBO's "Arliss," and a featured rocker on the show "Diresta," a featured drug junkie on "The Marshall Law," a featured criminal on 'The Practice," and a featured patient on "E.R." He has done stunts for Babylon 5 and Star Trek IX and has even done some runway modeling. He is still an active member of The Screen Actor's Guild.
Morgan began skateboarding at age 10 at The Clearwater Skate Park. He
built his first backyard half pipe in 1986 and began developing his skills
in innovative ramp design. He built one of the first vert to mini-spine ramps
in Tarpon. Pro-bones Skateboard star Mike "McTwist" McGill, who
Morgan first met when they were kids, asked him to help with construction
in his indoor skate park in Oldsmar. McGill was a member of the Bones Bridgade,
an elite team of skateboarders in the fore of professional skateboarding for
much of the 80s. He is the inventor of the McTwist, an inverted 540 degree
mute grabbed arial. The ground- breaking trick dominated skateboarding for
years afterwards and was recently the topic of a 20-year retrospective in
Thrasher Magazine. McGill was featured in a 2005 TV commercial as the trick’s
inventor and is mentioned in the Beastie Boys song "BBoys making with
the Freak Freak" and the OPM Song "Heaven Is A Half Pipe."
In 1991, Morgan moved to Cocoa Beach where he started building a new skate
park constructed over a lake on telephone poles. The next year, he headed
to Hollywood.
Morgan and friends of his from Hollywood developed The Hollywood Summit Show
when he returned to Florida years later. A search for the show on YouTube
serves up tons of great skate and extreme sports coverage, with a lot of great
footage of events happening right here in town at Dunedin's Stirling Skate
Park featuring local skaters.
To date The Summit Show has hosted two events at the Stirling Park as part
of its 12 Cities, One Island: Battle Of The Summit Series, one in 2009, shortly
after the park opened, and their 2010 Pool Gig.
An adjunct to the Summit Show's regular coverage, the 12 Cities, One Island
series puts a reality show twist on the show's regular format by pitting winners
in each of 12-skateboard rich metropolitan areas against each other in a final,
American Idol-style Hawaiian Islands showdown.
In The Hollywood Summit Show, Morgan and co-host Tom "The Ripper"
Spano, also an actor and a former professional snowboarder and mountain biker
with years of experience in skateboarding and surfing, try to give skateboarders
in other areas the same exposure they would get on the West Coast. Some of
my favorite footage is this interview with Mike
Rogers of Grind For Life, this interview with Courtney
Payne Taylor of Girls Riders Organization, and this video of world famous
skater Steve Steadham onstage with Dunedin
favorites, Full Fledged Unit, the official house band of The Hollywood Summit
Show.
The Summit Show joined the Ian Tilman Foundation (www.theiantilmannfoundation.org)
at the St. Pete and Orlando dates of last year's 2010 Warped tour. The show
frequently works with the charity dedicated the preventing brain injuries.
The Tilman Foundation distributes safety helmets and works to educate young
people and their families on the dangers of failing to wear safety gear, especially
helmets. The Safety Harbor based foundation promotes safety awareness to all
children and adults participating in any cycling sport with a focus on skateboarding
by giving a free helmet to athletes who pledge to wear them when they skate
or ride. It has given away over 3,000 helmets so far in its Helmet for a Promise
Program, operating both online and in six Florida Skate Parks. Their online
program allows any skater willing to make a promise to register for a free
helmet and have it shipped to them at home for $7.00 or to pick it up free
at a participating skate park. For more information, contact Barry Tilman
at 727-726-3435 or e-mail: iantilmannfoundation@tampabay.rr.com.
On Feb. 18, The Summit Show Party crew took a truck full of beer to Safety
Harbor, closing down Main St., for a party to benefit the Foundation. The
show crew served over 1000 beers, with music by the Lois Greco Band, raising
more than $2,400 in proceeds to buy helmets for the Helmet For A Promise program.
Along with the Tilman Foundation, the Summit show frequently works together
with non-profits Grind For LIfe and The Surfrider Foundation.
Grind For Life (www.GrindForLife.org), founded by three-time cancer survivor
and lifelong skater Mike Rogers, provides financial assistance to people with
cancer who must travel long distances for treatment. A Pro-skateboard Demo
in San Diego on March 19 this year to benefit the foundation featured Tony
Hawk and Andy McDonald and music by Agent Orange.
The Surfrider Foundation (www.surfrider.org) is a non-profit dedicated to
the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves and beaches. Founded
in Malibu by a handful of surfers in 1984, it now maintains 90 chapters with
more than 50,000 members worldwide.
Morgan was in California with Dave Duncan last year to host the 2010 Maloof
Money Cup Masters Devotion at The Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa,
CA in August (video)
and hosted last year's Steadham Spyder Cup. The Spyder Cup is an amateur competition
with multiple dates where as many as 500 skaters compete in two street categories,
best trick and game of skate. Other prominent skaters appear at the event
each year and Steadham performs with his band, Citizen X Posse.
When and how did you get started in skateboarding and what kind of path has
it taken you on in life?
WOW! That question is a small novel in itself. I got my first skateboard
back in 1973 from JC Penny's in Anderson, Indiana. It was a purple, clear
and plastic deck, I think the wheels were even made of plastic. I was a member
of the Anderson Sidewalk Surfers... killin' it down hills and carving, daffys,
360's, just your 70's style of skating.
In 1978 I moved to Clearwater, Florida, I became a fixture at Clearwater
Skateboard Park until 1982, when it closed. My mother understood the importance
of skateboarding in her kid’s lives and leased Skate Wave Skateboard
Park in Tampa, Florida for about a year.
In 1986 I built my first back yard half pipe. It was the beginning
of my long tenure as the builder of many small quarter and half pipes honing
my skills in erecting a variety of innovative skateboarding designs. In 1987
I built my first real half pipe that was 16' wide with 10 ' of flat and 8'
foot tall with an 8' transition.
In 1989 I put together one of the very first vert to mini spine ramps
in Tarpon. The deep end was 10' with 12' tombstones and 24' wide, with 18’
of flat. The deck of the deep end side had a 3.5’ mini ramp. The 6 '
mini ramp side of the spine had an 8' transition with a bi-level deck.
Pro Bones Brigade Skateboard Legend, Mike "Mc Twist" McGill, asked
me to help him with his indoor skateboard park in Oldsmar, Florida.
In 1991 I moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida where I started construction
on a new, innovative skateboard park built over a lake on telephone poles.
It too, was a spine ramp.
Here is some footage of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEU5Mj-82FA
What do you think it is about the sport that has kept you so involved?
I think the first thing about it is Skateboarders are true athletes
in every way. My mom and stepdad Harry James Chappell took all of their time
and pushed us kids to keep skating. They got involved as much as they could.
That alone made me want to skateboard more. Then you have the overcoming of
what is and is not possible. It builds confidence. Just the fact that you
feel the need to constantly progress and everytime you pull off a new trick
it opens the door for more. There is no end to what this sport has to offer.
Then you have the feeling of speed and flight. Even when you're going across
the flat bottom of a ramp or pool you are going so fast you feel like you
are flying. One of the biggest misconceptions of this sport is that people
think it's not for them. It is a sport of all ages, races and colors. It is
an American pastime!
So what is your favorite trick?
Um? That I do or just whoever is doing it?
Your favorite trick
Um, I like to do lip tricks and combo them up into multi tricks. I
think I, like, go into the wall frontside and olly into a nose grind, disaster
slide to smith and take it to revert.
Who is your favorite skater?
Wow, that’s a tuff one there. Bucky Lasek. He just kills it.
What deck are you riding now?
I'm riding a Dread Or Dead. They are this little company out of Barbados.
They make surf boards and skate decks. Nice shapes, but I long board a lot
so what ever you put under me I'm good.
Barbados?
Yeah, I know. It's so punk rock. But a bitchin' deck and it's made
by real Barbados punk rock pirates of the Caribbean.
Ok, your favorite place you ever skated?
My old spine ramp in Tarpon from back in the 80's, I don't know.
It was just so fun. Nights that I could not sleep I would go out and skate
'till like 4:00 am. I had the best parties ever there too. Full on blow outs.
It was five layers of plywood thick, just crazy fast.
Talk about your work as an actor.
Oh boy, so we're going to go here now, huh? Yeah I did that. When
I moved out to Hollywood in 1992 I wanted to pursue acting and stunt work,
not become a big star. I just wanted to work in the entertainment industry.
All my friends and family told me I would never make it, but I look at it
like this, if you're going to go out to Hollywood to become a big star you
should go to Las Vegas and put it all on red because your odds will be much
better. But if you're going to Hollywood to get in a film you have a chance
at that. I just wanted to cast myself into time via film. I did that. It took
over 6 years to get my Screen Actors Guild card. But if you want something
you have to pay a price and never give up. I never had a big part, but I did
get on film.
The fact is I not only tried, I lived it. To this very day I hold
my membership in the Screen Actors Guild and I am a very active member. I
vote on the Screen Actors guild awards with the S.A.G. nomination committee.
Kinda cool.
How did you get the idea for the Hollywood Summit Show?
Well, I moved out to Hollywood at the end of 1992 to pursue acting
and stunt work in the entertainment industry. After years of thrills and spills
and way too many injuries, I decided to take a short break and move from Los
Angeles back to the sunshiny state of Florida in maybe, like, 2003.
I needed to have shoulder surgery and just some much needed time to
heal. I started networking with old friends from Hollywood by phone and e-mail.
We started working on a project called the “HOLLYWOOD Project”
with the group of us that called ourselves “The HOLLYWOOD Network”;
Our vision was to start producing our own films. I then opened my own production
company, Monroe Productions International.
At this point in time everything was in place. I met Tom Spano online and
we started working on our first show. I got on a plane and off to Greensboro
North Carolina to film our first episode, The
HOLLYWOOD Summit Show Wakeboard Episode. It's been working for us ever
since. The "no name skaters" are out there, millions of them, only
dreaming of having a chance to be seen. The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show's "BATTLE
OF THE SUMMIT" gives them the platform to do just that.
What inspired you to put on the 2010 Pool Gig Event?
Well, after the major success of our Apirl 18, 2009 "Battle Of
The Summit," The City of Dunedin has asked us to come back and do more
events, but we just didn't have the time. We have been working so hard on
a full television series called The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show's "Battle Of
The Summit" 12 City 1 Island. This
is the television trailer for it.
But anyway I was at Stirling Skate Park to host an Ian Tilmann Foundation
event and my friend, life long skater Todd Webb was there. He said, you know
HOLLYWOOD no one has ever had a pool event in that pool in the back. Well
pools like that one are not for everyone. As you can see in this video.
So what we did was make the pool the main event, but to get more people interested,
we had some flow bowl and street division as well.
How did you decide on Stirling Skate Park as the venue?
We like Stirling Skate Park as a venue because. I think they have
one of the best parks around on this coust of Florida. It's a team pain park,
( One of the top skateboard park builders in the world ) That and let's face
it, The City of Dunedin: Martin Luther King Recreation Center is one of the
best The Summit Show has ever worked with. They have a great, very hard working
staff and loves to work with The Summit. Big up's to them all for their hard
and endless work.
What do you think of the City's support of the Skating community.
At first, we heard that the City of Dunedin may be closing the Martin
Luther King Recreation Center. That was like our calling to do our first event
there. After all the work that it took to get the park put in, now the people
of the city stood a chance of losing it. I am very politically driven and
love the sport of skateboarding, so it was a very natural decision for us
to get involved. I think the first thing you should do in a case like this
is to get the city officials involved, show them that their community needs
the facility. So I got a hold of everyone I could and told them about the
event. I also involved the local Chambers of Commerce. Vigorous co-operation
was achieved from the Dunedin Mayor's office, who had previously recommended
closure of the skate park. I even talked to the Mayor, Dave Eggers. I believe,
if the people lead the leaders will follow. And Mayor Eggers loves his great
city as should everyone in power. Not only did he come out to see the event,
he embraced it as a family sport., a sport for everyone of all ages to enjoy.
At the event we ( The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show ) bestowed Mayor Dave
Eggers and The City of Dunedin, Florida a large beautiful trophy and plaque
to be displayed for all to see in City Hall. Mayor Eggers saw firsthand the
positive response of families and the value of having a safe and challenging
skate park for the community. After this event I can say without a doubt,
Dunedin, Florida 100% embraces the sport of skateboarding in every way. It
is a "SKATEBOARD CITY." (see pic 8 Mayor Dave Eggers).
The video is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrlz21Lx0L4.
How do skaters in Hollywood Summit Show events get involved?
We post info on www.TheHollywoodSummitShow.com,
which is its own on-line community. We post flyers everywhere and most city
Recreation Centers post on their web sites and hang flyers, Dunedin Press,
yes, and your mag too (Laughs). Coping Block and Juice skateboard magazine
have been following us and posting our events as they come up. Every skateboard
shop helps out in every way too.
What should up and coming skaters wanting to be a part in the future do to
get started?
Stay active. Open a profile on the www.TheHollywoodSummitShow.com
on-line community and we will keep you posted on up-coming events. Go to your
local skateboard park and ask them if they need help in any way. And just
skate safe. As a parent, know that your child has a helmet on when they skateboard.
I think just showing up to local skateboard contests shows support. The bay
area has www.CopingBlock.com and for sure Concrete Wave will help out a lot
to.
Tell Us a little about your involvement in the non-profits represented
your events. How did you come to believe they were a good cause?
At first, we gave a lot of what The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show did away.
In fact, we never, not one time, put one dollar in our pocket. After an event
we had after parties and we took what did not go to non-profit charities and
put it back into the community in that city. We took the charities under our
wing, not only to get them money, but to make people aware of what they are
doing. Your nothing without a good network. So know this. all the beautiful
large trophies and plaques The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show has bestowed on Mayors
and Recreation Centers has all been paid for by us and had no profit at all.
In fact, we took a loss everytime. Why? When an investor comes along and wanted
to put their big money into the HOLLYWOOD Summit Show I wanted them to feel
comfortable in doing so. Because I feel we have done that much on a shoestring
budget just think what we are going to do with a real budget. You can tell
someone all day long what you can do, but when you show then first, then you
have something. The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show without a doubt has more than what
it takes to make it. This show comes from the heart. Now everyone knows what
we do and how well we do it. No one has a problem working with us at all.
They know for a fact they will get way more then promised everytime. Just
good networking, I tell ya!
When it comes to picking the right non-profit cause to work with,
I always become friends with them first... Take the time to look at their
track record. Do they have a dream of passion for their cause? Do they live
what they talk about? That's a good place to start. You can talk to the causes
I work with, and they will tell you I do it because I believe in it.
The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show works with...
The Ian Tilman Foundation (www.theiantilmannfoundation.org). It was established
in 2005, the non-profit dedicated to the prevention of brain injury through
the distribution of safety helmets and educational materials to children and
adults in the local community engaged in any skating or cycling sport. The
Foundation provides free helmets to those who pledge to wear one. We work
with them because they all clearly have a dream of passion for what they do.
Grind For Life. (www.GrindForLife.org) Two time cancer survivor Mike Rogers
founded Grind For Life. It provides financial assistance to cancer patients
and their families traveling long distances to doctors and hospitals. In addition,
they educate and inspire these patients and their families on cancer survival
and recovery.
The Surfrider Foundation (www.surfrider.org). They are a non-profit organization
dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves and
beaches. Founded in Malibu by a handful of surfers in 1984, it now maintains
90 chapters with more than 50,000 members worldwide.
What have you been up to and what is next for you and The HOLLYWOOD Summit
Show?
Well, we hit the Vans Warped Tour Florida dates with The Ian Tilman
Foundation, St, Pete and Orlando. We wanted to make sure the extreme sports
world skated safe and got a free helmet, but we ended up painting over 250
people with body paint. It was hot and they were in the sun all day. I'm sure
they had HOLLYWOOD Summit Show tan lines. It was good to get The HOLLYWOOD
Summit Show Fans into what we believe in. We painted them up and pushed them
out into the crowd. Just doing everything we can to make the skaters aware
of helmet safety. Here is some video from orlando: HOLLYWOOD
Summit Show Fans at Warped Tour 2010.
Dave Duncan and I were out in California announcing The 2010 Maloof
Money Cup Masters Devotion. It was at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa
Mesa. A lot of big names in that event. Skating icons. Christian Hosoi, Steve
Caballero, Jesse Martinez, Ron Allen, Lance Mountain, Eddie Reategui, Eric
Dressen, Chris Miller, Lester Kasai, Steve Steadham, Duane Peters, Tony Magnusson,
Kevin Staab, Jeff Grosso, Eric Nash, Ben Schroeder, Pat Ngoho and Mike Mcgill.
It was on Fox TV's FUEL.TV Network. It stoked me. (See pic 10 and 11 Morgan
HOLLYWOOD Monroe and Dave Duncan at the 2010 Maloof Money Cup) Find the video
at:http://maloofmoneycup.com/dev/masters
As for what we are doing now?
The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show has about 22 dates so far this year and a lot more
to come. We will be working on all of The Ian Tilman Foundation, events too.
The Steadham Spyder Cup asked me to host all of their events as well.
We are putting the better part of our time in the "BATTLE OF THE SUMMIT"
It's taken a lot of time to get to where we are at on this project and we
are all very stoked about it. It will be a true gift to our sport.
This will open a door from the subculture of skateboarding into the mainstream
family lifestyle without changing its roots. I have always worked to be the
innovator and risk taker, The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show's "BATTLE OF THE
SUMMIT", is driven by my competitive nature.
We have all watched both the extreme sports and reality-type shows
gain in popularity. I have spent years developing a formula to fuse both extreme
sports and a reality show into a proven experimental entertainment production,
the first being completed May 18th, 2009 at Stirling Skate Park in Dunedin,
Florida. We let the chips fall where they may, and in Dunedin, the chips fell
in such a way that it shook the tradition of conventional contests. Three
high energy commentators and an involved crowd made for great performances
from contestants from 8 to 48. We had an 8-year-old boy, a 14-year-old
girl and a 45-year-old veteran pool skater at war in a flow bowl. You couldn't
have found a better action filled scenario in a Hollywood script. See, here's
the hook. We pit the place winners of the three age divisions against each
other. In the case of the Dunedin's "BATTLE OF THE SUMMIT," the
first place winner was 11, second place was 10, and third went to a 14-year-old
girl. Scoring was on a points system based on trick variety and level of difficulty,
highest score wins.
The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show's "Battle Of The Summit" will
find twelve top winners from the12 skateboarding-rich metropolitan cities
to compete at the Hawaiian "Battle of the Summit". The reality format
of hit shows such as American Idol, and So You Think You Can Dance have proven
that the country loves to follow unknown, talented contestants as they achieve
greatness. The HOLLYWOOD Summit Show's "BATTLE OF THE SUMMIT" 12
City 1 Island 2010 Series will "try out" the bevy of contestants
in the same manner. So, what about the reality? When the Hollywood Summit
Show rolls into a city, there is no mistaking our presence, and for "BATTLE
OF THE SUMMIT" there will be a tour bus and support vehicles wrapped
in the Hollywood Summit Show logo, as well as the various logos of all "Battle
of the Summit" sponsors and supporters.
The show layout of The Battle of the Summit will consist of a two-hour
season opener, television formatted episode, eleven 1-hour television formatted
episodes, a two-hour Battle of The Summit Finale television formatted episode.
Hoping to get 24 episodes in all for our full television season.
Tom "the Ripper" Spano and myself draw plenty of attention. So it
will be a four month tour with Tom "the Ripper" Spano, cast, crew,
bands, celebrity/ professional cameos and friends will present a lot of opportunities
for comedic entertainment. Every city will have Summit after parties that
will consist of local locations, our live bands, local talent, and community
spirit/ involvement. There will be great skateboarding with The HOLLYWOOD
Summit Show's House band "Full Fledged Unit" playing punk rock on
the lip of the bowl and "feel good" stories on all the competitors,
especially those that continue on to Hawaii. The show will cover the athletes,
their stories, families, local shops, team members, background on the local
scenes/ hot spots, etc. Keep an eye out for it, IT WILL COME OUT.
And I will now be doing stories for Concrete Wave. Bringing you the
best skater from every event I crash. Interviews, Stories and a lot of great
pictures.
Do you have anyone you want to give a shout out to?
Yeah for sure. I gotta say thanks to my Mom for doin that whole mother
gig up the right way. And to all you skaters that are just killin it out there,
generation next is going to make us all very proud for sure. And I have got
to thank my street team and my network for staying on for the ride, I am nothing
without you and to you gnarr peeps that keep telling us it cannot be done,
stay out of the way, we are doing it. Thanks for taking time out to find out
who I am, and please, Stay Off Your Face….. (Laughs)!
(L) On the set of "The 60's," 1999
(R) On the set of "C'mon Get Happy."
